0p0 Chapter 297 Provocation
Chapter 297 Provocation
Lan Qingwu remembered that Yun Heng was injured when she and he first met.
Lan Qingwu seemed to have returned to the stark reality all of a sudden. He was at the center of the vortex of power, in a deep palace filled with intrigue and life-and-death struggles.
The deep voice of the Emperor Shenwu rang in Lan Qingwu's ears: "Your cousin Lan Shuren is a pillar of Dasheng and a pillar of the country!"
Emperor Shenwu had already let Lan Shuren join the cabinet, and Lan Shuren's natural position was to oppose that of the master.
Lan Qingwu felt that the topic of Emperor Shenwu was jumping too quickly. As usual, she remained silent when the Blue Tree Man was mentioned and never spoke a word.
Emperor Shenwu seemed to have sensed something, lowered his phoenix eyes and looked at Lan Qingwu, and saw that Lan Qingwu looked a little confused.
The Emperor Shenwu's emotions had long since subsided. He raised one of his sword-like eyebrows and said, "You don't have to worry about these things, I will solve them myself. I just want my little one to be carefree, happy and at ease by my side!"
Lan Qingwu smiled sweetly. Yes, even if she was in the center of the vortex, she had the Divine Martial Emperor by her side, and he would never let go of her hand. That was enough! The man beside her would be her eternal support and an inseparable bond between them.
Lan Qingwu lay in the arms of Emperor Shenwu, and Emperor Shenwu also hugged her tightly, as if he wanted to merge Lan Qingwu into his body.
After leaving Fengqi Palace, Concubine Wen did not walk far. Her face was gloomy, and there was a hint of red bloodshot in her slightly lowered almond-shaped eyes.
When the eldest princess came out of Fengqi Palace, she saw that Concubine Wen had not gone far and seemed to be waiting for her.
The eldest princess pretended not to know and continued walking straight ahead. She passed by Concubine Wen and bowed softly, "Your Majesty, Concubine Wen."
After paying his respects, he stood up and prepared to leave without waiting for Concubine Wen's reply.
Concubine Wen looked at the eldest princess's actions and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Wait!"
The eldest princess paused, frowned slightly and looked at Concubine Wen.
Concubine Wen disagreed. She took a step forward and almost leaned close to the eldest princess. She said in a very low voice, "The eldest princess seems very satisfied with her marriage! Now that the eldest princess's lifelong event has been decided, I have something to say to her."
Concubine Wen waved away the palace maids beside her, and looked sharply at the palace maid who was following the eldest princess. The palace maid looked at the eldest princess and finally took a few steps back.
Concubine Wen then said, "Princess Mingzhu, your mother was His Majesty's Empress Dowager. You should have been the apple of His Majesty's eye, yet you only received so much love from your father! It's a pity that after your mother's passing, her honor and status have been taken by another! I really feel sorry for your mother and feel so wronged!"
Princess Mingzhu was really annoyed this time. You, Concubine Wen, were competing with the Empress for favor, why were you dragging your long-deceased mother into this?
"Empress Wen, please be careful with your words! The Empress and you entered the palace together, right? That was five years after my father ascended the throne, and my mother had been dead for almost six years. You are…"
Concubine Wen scoffed and looked at Princess Mingzhu with pity. "I'm sure you've heard vaguely that your mother, the Crown Princess back then, wasn't favored by His Royal Highness, which is why she died of depression after giving birth to you. So, do you know how a Crown Princess from an aristocratic family with stunning beauty couldn't possibly be favored by your father?"
Princess Mingzhu's heart was beating very fast. She instinctively didn't want to hear it, but her feet were firmly fixed on the ground.
"That's because your father, before he was even crowned Crown Prince, was about thirteen or fourteen when he was sent to the border by your royal grandfather. There, he met a little girl. For six years, they grew up together as childhood sweethearts, and your father's heart was captivated by this girl. So, after returning to the Imperial City and being crowned Crown Prince, he reluctantly married your mother, but treated her coldly. Your mother was gentle and submissive, and he didn't know why your father treated her this way. From then on, he became heartbroken, and after giving birth to you, his health deteriorated, leading to his death! Princess Mingzhu, this woman was the Empress Dowager, who was summoned to the palace five years after your father ascended the throne! Do you still believe that your mother's death had nothing to do with the Empress Dowager?"
Princess Mingzhu felt as if she had entered an ice cellar, her entire body trembling slightly. However, she gritted her teeth and said, "Then why didn't Father summon the Empress to the palace earlier? Besides, the Empress was already engaged back then."
Concubine Wen simply smiled. "You don't believe me! That's fine! You can ask the Empress Dowager indirectly about how your mother died. You can also take a look at the peach blossom coral bracelet that the Empress never takes off. Your father personally carved it for her when he was at the border. And now, your father and the Empress are wearing a pair of Hetian jade rings on their fingers!"
"Your father has favored the Empress for many years, and you've never thought about why? I can tell you about someone you can go to. She's Consort Yun of the Shuiyun Pavilion. She knows much more than I do. Princess Mingzhu, at this point, I only feel sorry for your mother. She's become a stumbling block between the Emperor and the Empress!"
Princess Mingzhu's breathing quickened as she spoke word by word, "I don't believe it!"
"You don't have to believe it, but you can go and check and ask! If you have the chance, you can even ask your father if he still remembers your mother! How many times has your father paid tribute to your mother in these four seasons?"
Concubine Wen said no more and turned and left.
Only Princess Mingzhu was left standing there in a daze for a long time.
The head maid walked back to the eldest princess's side and asked worriedly, "Your Highness, what did Concubine Wen say? Why do you look so grim?"
Princess Mingzhu came back to her senses and breathed a sigh of relief: "Nothing, let's go back!"
Princess Mingzhu returned to her palace in a daze, one foot light, one foot heavy. After she turned ten, Emperor Shenwu chose a new palace for her. As the legitimate Princess of the Yuan Dynasty, and having grown up in the Empress Dowager's palace, she was exceptionally noble. Naturally, Emperor Shenwu would not treat her badly, granting her a residence in Yuanchun Palace, not far from Empress Dowager Li's Cining Palace.
Princess Mingzhu looked around her own palace. It was spacious, bright, and noble, and was decorated with countless rare treasures. However, compared with the Queen's magnificent and supreme Fengqi Palace, it was not even on the same level.
The head maid called out softly again, "Your Highness!"
Princess Mingzhu came back to her senses and said meaningfully, "This princess is about to get married, and I won't be able to stay in the palace for much longer. For the time being, we should move back to the Cining Palace to accompany the Empress Dowager!"
The head maid had no suspicions and obeyed without hesitation. Princess Mingzhu knew Concubine Wen was trying to sow discord, but since this matter concerned her mother's life, she couldn't just ignore it. Suspicion arose, so she had no choice but to investigate.
But what Princess Mingzhu didn't know was that, apart from the real reason for her mother's death, the rest of the story was true. The mixture of truth and falsehood, reality and fiction, ultimately confused her judgment and led to a huge mistake!